YOUNG WORDSMITHS

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YOUNG WORDSMITHS Young Wordsmiths is the online magazine of Lekha Writing Center.

It is dedicated to publishing writing BY and FOR children.

FOUNDER: JYOTI YELAGALAWADI

Text Copyright by Lekha students as noted in the Lekha Anthologies published by Lekha Publishers LLC. Material in this magazine are drawn from student writings’ from Lekha Anthologies published over the years as well as from current student writings’ from Lekha Writing Center classes and camps.

Images Used are Copyright Free and Royalty Free.

Shutterstock images have been used in this issue.

Fonts Used: Segoe Print, Algerian, Baguet Script & Dreaming Outlook.

FOUNDER’S NOTE

Dear friends of Lekha, When seasons change Colors abound Changing the landscape around.

Young voices come Voices abound Changing the words around With pens aplenty Methods change Seemingly a wider range As thoughts flow Creating a universe Mirroring their new world.

WRITE4JOY !!

Jyoti Yelagalawadi.

Founder of Lekha Ink, Corp.

YOUNG WORDSMITHS is a quarterly magazine.

ONLINE ISSN: 2691-7912 Vol 7. No 1 Price: $2.99 EDITOR: Radhika Rajesh Raikar

If you love to write and love telling stories, then please send your submissions to the following email address:

submissions@lekhaink.com

Inside this issue…

Dolphins

...Page 6

The flickering hope

....Page 7

Names of Characters

…Page 8

The Tales of Veggie-Ville

...Page 9-11

Puppyella

...Page 12-17

Connect the dots.

...Page 18

Wordsearch

...Page 19

That’s not possible

…Page 20-25

The bullying shark

...Page 26-31

Flame

...Page 32-39

Dolphins make me glad They cheer me up when I am sad.

Just one look will make you smile You’ll be playing in a while.

A dolphin’s skin is smooth and gray Dolphins will take your fears away.

After you play you will find That dolphins are one of a kind.

Some mammals are big and some are small But dolphins are the best of all.

COUPLETS

DOLPHINS

BY MAIA LWIN, AGE 7

THE FLICKERING HOPE

Two lines of rhyming poetry

AVA LELE, AGE 12, 2024

In the midst of the night There was a flickering light It spread and spread Like butter on bread Enveloping the worlds With it’s glowing swirls Just to be put out With a cloud of doubt No matter what doubt keeps whispering Hope will bounce back and keep flickering

NAMES OF CHARACTERS

The tales of Veggie-Ville written by Elaina demonstrates very effectively how one can bring characters in a setting to life by giving them names which feel appropriate to the theme of the story.

In Veggie Ville, the students study in Veggie-School, where they have do homework like Veggie-Science and Veggie-Math and Veggie-Spelling assigned to them by their school teacher Ms. Zucchini. With Ninja french-fries as the antagonist Elaina used humor to enliven the story.

Elaina also demonstrated a very effective use of alliteration with character names like Patrick Pickle, Cassie Corn, Benny Bellpepper and Cody Cauliflower.

THE TALES OF VEGGIE-VILLE

BY ELIANA MARKS, AGE 9.

Once upon a time, there was a school teacher named Ms. Zucchini. She lived in Veggie-Ville, a nice little town with a population of 235 vegetables, just enough for everyone to have friends and family. She taught at Veggie School and she always walked there in the mornings.

On her way to Veggie School, she ran into her student, named Patrick Pickle.

"Hi Ms. Zucchini!" said Patrick.

He was a very nice boy and also very polite.

"Hi Patrick, how are you?" asked the teacher.

Before Patrick could answer, the teacher said, "Oh my, it is almost time to get to school, see you in a few minutes."

When she reached Veggie School, the bell rang, meaning that everyone had to go to their classrooms.

In class, Ms. Zucchini said, "Cassie Corn, go get the flag. We will sing our national anthem, 'Stay Safe Veggie-Ville”.

On their way home from school, Benny Bell-Pepper said to his friend Cody Cauliflower, "I can't believe that Ms. Zucchini gives us so much homework! Veggie Science and Veggie Math also, five pages of Veggie Spelling! I just can’t take it!"

“Me neither." said Cody, who usually did not complain.

That evening, at 5:30 pm, there was an invasion of ninja french fries.

Everybody in Veggie-Ville was so scared.

They didn't know what was going to happen to them.

Then suddenly, the mayor of Veggie-Ville said, "I command you to take your flying box and leave!"

Sure enough, it worked.

But, would peace last??

What if the ninja french fries came back??

At Ms. Zucchini's house, her children Zack and Zoey didn't want to go bed.

"We want to see if the ninja french fries will come back !" complained Zoe. "No Zoe," said her mom, "You need your sleep."

Zack didn't want to go to sleep either, but he did not want to say anything because he was good and never complained.

The next day the french fries didn't come back, and the town of Veggie­Ville was happy.

In the end, the french fries never came back because they were afraid the mayor of Veggie-Ville would hurt them.

Then the french fries flew to McDonaldland and stayed in that home forever, because it was where they belonged.

FAST FOOD Back at Veggie-Ville, there was a big parade to celebrate the leaving of ninja french fries, who would never come back.

Their land was safe for now!

PUPPYELLA

WRITTEN BY RHEA MAHESH , AGE 9, 2021 Once upon a time there was a puppy named Puppyella.

Puppyella was a beautiful white puppy with brown ears. Puppyella had the best life a puppy could ever have! She lived on a farm. The farm was over twenty acres. It had horses, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys, sheep, goats, cows, cats, and friendly dogs for her to play with.

One day the farmer sold the farm to a magician with his two puppies training for the circus.

When the farmer was cleaning up the farm he got every animal ready for the new farm, but forgot poor Puppyella.

The magician was pleased with the new puppy.

His puppies went in nice clean, spacious stalls, while Puppyella got a small, dirty stall with bird droppings.

Puppyella learned that their names were Ginger, the golden retriever and Nelsie, the german shepherd.

Puppyella was just a friendly beagle. She tried to make friends with Nelsie and Ginger, but they were just mean to her.

Puppyella wished the farmer hadn’t forgotten her. She thought if the farmer had remembered her she would be living a happy life with the farm animals and the friendly dogs and cats. She would be herding the sheep and riding the horses, but she had this lonely life with a mean magician and mean puppies.

Once Puppyella saw the magician take Nelsie and Ginger outside.

She thought it would at least be nice to run around the farm and get a breath outside versus this stinking stall.

To her surprise the magician did not let her go outside. Instead he took her to a huge pit filled with coals. There were smoking coals, sharp coals, rigged coals, and dusty coals.

The magician tied a wagon filled with hot coals and pushed her.

“GET UP AND WALK ON THE COALS YOU STUPID PUPPY! I AM YOUR MASTER!!! OBEY ME AT ALL TIMES UNDESTAND!?” the magician ordered.

Helpless Puppyella could do nothing about it. She walked on the pit of coals. She sunk into the coals, and it was painful. She got dust on her fur, got cuts everywhere, and got burned. When she came out she was so black she hardly looked like a puppy.

Puppyella whined sadly, but the magician just barked a laugh and threw her into her dirty, small stall. He did not even bother to give her a bath or clean her.

When the magician left she heard a scared squeak, and she saw a mouse.

“P-Please don’t eat me!, “ he squeaked, “ I am Richard! I am just a friendly mouse who has no friends. I tried making friends with those dogs, but they just scared me away! Help me please!”

“Oh!” said Puppyella “ I know those dogs are mean! We can be friends. I also wanted friends.”

“Thank you!” Richard squeaked “ It would be lovely to have a friend at last!”

“Yay!” Puppyella said with delight “ We shall play now! “ “Errrrr…” Richard said “ I won’t be able to play now, but we could play later.”

Puppyella was sad, but she agreed. She tried to imagine that she lived in the new farm playing with her best friend, Dixie who was her border collie friend. She missed Dixie so much, but as she thought more about it she drifted off to sleep.

It was morning and the magician woke her up harshly.

“THERE WILL BE A DOG SHOW TODAY, AND MY PUPPIES WILL WIN!! YOU HAVE TO DO TRICKS TOO, BECAUSE PEOPLE SHOULD SEE HOW BAD YOU ARE!” The other puppies laughed and teased Puppyella. Puppyella let out a sigh; she did not know any cool tricks.

When the puppies got ready Richard came. They talked and played. Puppyella realized that the magician let her outside for once, so she went outside.

It was not long when she saw a beautiful full grown dog which had wings.

“Hello!” she said in a calm voice.

“I am your fairy godmother, Opal! It is so nice to see you Puppyella!”

“H-How do you k-k-know my n-name??” Puppyella stuttered.

“I have come to help you!” said Opal. “Richard faked that he is friendless. He came so I can help you!”

Richard nodded.

“You are going to look amazing! She took out a wand and then she pointed it to the magician’s truck and it became a beautiful car with flower streamers and pink paint with the word Rose on one of the doors. She turned Richard into a human!

“Cheese Louise!” Richard exclaimed with excitement.

Opal just smiled and pointed her wand straight at Puppyella, and Puppyella looked so beautiful. She was wearing a crown with flowers, a bow on her tail and her fur was sparkly again! It smelled like cupcakes, and she was wearing high heels.

“Now you are ready to go to the dog show!” said Opal.

“Good luck my dear!

Puppyella smiled and walked into the car and Richard got in the driver’s seat.

“And don’t forget that the spell ends by noon!” Opal shouted as Richard and Puppyella drove away.

They drove to the dog show. The sign said : WELCOME TO THE DOG SHOW WHERE EXCELLENT DOGS SHOW THEIR TALENTS! When they entered they saw Nelsie and Ginger.

“Wow, she looks so pretty, like one of Queen Elizabeth’s royal puppy!” whispered Ginger to Nelsie and then pointed a paw at Puppyella.

Then the magician came and told Nelsie and Ginger it was time to go for the show. Richard and Puppyella went too.

They saw many dogs performing.

When it was Ginger and Nelsie’s turn they walked on stage.

Each of them made mistakes. During the rail run Ginger knocked one down and during the seesaw Nelsie jumped too high and landed off stage.

Next, it was Puppyella’s turn. She jumped neatly onto the seesaw, ran smoothly during the rain run and jumped six feet high in the ring and to the finish line.

It was almost noon. She told Richard it was time to go and they ran, but Puppyella’s high heel came off. They did not notice the princess who was calling for them to come back.

They kept running as they had to get back to the farm. It was a little too late. Richard was a mouse driving a truck and Puppyella was a black puppy again.

They got to the magician’s farm. They went back to their places. Then, the magician arrived muttering in frustration and locked Puppyella in her stall.

Soon the princess came because she wanted to find the dog who won and keep her as a pet. She took the high heel and asked the magician to find the dog who owns this.

The magician nodded. Ginger’s foot was too fat and Nelsie’s foot was too skinny, but Puppyella’s paw fit perfectly.

Then, the princess took Puppyella and Richard to her palace.

They had a spacious stall that was ten acres. The princess fed Richard some cheese and Puppyella a puppy cupcake with a dog bone treat on top.

They lived happily ever after!

Have fun retellng a good old story.

Create a “Puppyella” inspired by a Cinderella.

PUPPYELLA CONNECT THE DOTS

VEGGIE-VILLE

THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE. (IQ + COMMON SENSE QUIZ)

BY ARIANNA CHEN< AGE 12, 2024 INSTRUCTIONS: Read the description on each question. Then, circle what you think about that description. On a separate sheet of paper, please write your reasoning for your choice. The answer sheet is on page 2. No cheating!

HINT:

Please consider all possibilities.

QUESTION 1.

The moon is out on a bright sunny day. However, the sun has not set yet, and the moon seems unnaturally big.

That’s not possible.

That is possible.

I don’t know.

QUESTION 2.

A rabbit sits still for hours on a little path without moving,

and it is not sleeping.

That’s not possible.

That is possible.

I don’t know.

QUESTION 3.

3 eggs of different sizes balance on top of the unmoving rabbit’s

nose.

That’s not possible.

I don’t know.

That is possible.

It depends.

QUESTION 4.

On the very top egg of those 3 eggs is a bird, which has a yellow halo on its head.

That’s not possible.

I don’t know.

That is possible.

It depends.

QUESTION 5.

There are ivy vines wrapping around the rabbit, but above the rabbits’ head, the ivy is twisted into a mickey-mouse-head shape which is not supported by any beam, wire or string.

That’s not possible.

I don’t know.

That is possible.

It depends.

QUESTION 6.

Butterflies and bees of unproportionate sizes surround the rabbit.

That’s not possible.

I don’t know.

That is possible.

It depends.

ANSWER SHEET. WARNING:

If you have not finished the quiz in the preceding page, do not continue reading! Return to the previous page immediately.

INSTRUCTIONS: Once the quiz in the preceding page is completed, check your circled answers with this answer sheet. Then read the descriptions, and see if they match your explanation sheet.

QUESTION 1.

That is possible.

In fact, the moon appearing during daytime is a very natural phenomenon to the Earth. However, the part about the unnaturally large moon is also possible. If the Earth itself stopped spinning but the atmosphere regained its velocity, the moon would remain spinning around the Earth. Slowly, the Earth would pull the moon closer and closer. Once the moon gets too close to Earth, it would start dragging the Earth into orbit once again.

QUESTION 2.

That is possible.

Rabbits often do this if they sense danger, or something that they feel unnatural around them. Another possibility is that this rabbit is a statue, and, if you have any common sense, statues don’t move by themselves unless an unnatural force is acted upon them.

QUESTION 3.

That is possible.

Everything has a balance point. Also, the eggs could be glued together. And if we stuck with the possibility that the rabbit is a statue, the eggs could be part of the statue.

QUESTION 4.

That is possible.

The bird could definitely be part of the statue as well.

However, if the bird was not part of the statue, it could be standing on a stick or another thin object obscured by the rabbit, and the bird is just an unproportional object that coincidentally looks like it is sitting atop the eggs. As for the halo, we cannot rule out the possibility that another human glued this halo on the bird’s head.

QUESTION 5.

That is not possible.

The part about the vines tangling around the rabbit may be true, but vines cannot be made into a specific shape unless there is any support.

QUESTION 6.

It depends.

These might be statues as well, so then they would be alright.

However, the description does not explain that the butterflies and bees had any support, so it depends. As you know, statues

don’t float, because they have a certain mass which gravity pulls down.

Create your own quiz

QUIZ BOOK

THE BULLYING SHARK NICO XEPOLEAS Chapter 1: The Race One day, two African Dwarf frogs were swimming in the sea. Their names were Tommy and Fred. They both were brownish-green with black spots.

Fred was a bit chubby, but Tommy was skinny and little.

They were brothers. The sea where they lived was clear blue and really warm. The water smelled salty and there were lots of sea animals.

While they were swimming, they saw a gigantic shark coming towards them.

"Why are you frogs here?" he asked.

"We're just trying to find a new home. The swamp was much too cold for us,” said Tommy.

The shark chuckled mockingly. "You're so little, I could eat you with one bite” he teased Tommy.

"Hey, don't call my brother little!"

Fred shouted to the shark.

"You're so fat!" the shark mocked him.

"Leave us alone, bully!" Tommy squeaked in terror.

Then the shark's eyes turned pure red.

"That's it! YOU ASKED FOR IT!" he roared, swimming as fast as a cheetah towards them! They screamed and swam as fast as they could. He was gaining on them.

We're dead, Freddy thought.

Then they swam into a little hole in the rocks. The shark slammed his face into the rocks. He roared so loud they thought their ears would pop off.

"I'LL GET YOU FROGS! THERE IS NOTHING THAT GETS IN THE WAY OF DUKE!" Then he swam off.

"Are you okay?" a couple of fish asked.

One of the fish was black and brown and the other was very pretty.

"If you mean 'scared to death', then, yes!" said Tommy.

"We're fine, he means," Fred said, looking at his brother.

"We're going to join the E.B.C." said the pretty fish.

"E.B.C.?" Fred asked "End Bullying Club," said the black and brown fish.

What are your names? We're Fred and Tommy," said Fred.

"We're Lizzy and Chase," said the pretty fish.

"Can we join the club with you?" asked Tommy.

"Of course," said Lizzy. And off they went.

Chapter 2: E.B.C. They swam into a cave, but a guard-fish stopped them.

"Halt! You are trespassing into the E.B.C.!" he declared.

"We just want to join," said Chase.

"Is there a problem, here?" A big black fish swam out of the shadows.

"They say they want to join. Do you accept?" asked the guard-fish.

"No, I do not accept!" snapped the black fish.

"Why?" asked Tommy.

"Because you're far too weak! I heard that shark fight all the way from here!" said the black fish.

"Oh..."sighed Fred.

Lizzy glared at him.

"Fine! But we'll make a club much better than yours!" Lizzy shouted as swam away.

Chapter 3: Our Own Club "What should we call the club?" asked Chase.

"Hmmm...Revenge On the Shark Club?" Lizzy suggested.

"Sure, as long as we have enough people," said Fred.

"Let's split up and find people. Then let's meet by the little hole-where we met earlier," said Tommy.

"Okay Tommy, you go north. Chase, you go west. Fred, you go south, and I'll go east. Ready? Go!" And they set off.

Fred swam south. It looked kind of scary...it was all dark there, with only a few fish and the plants all droopy and rotten.

"Yuck!" he muttered to himself.

He went into the middle of the dump and shouted, "Join the R.O.T.S. Club!"

And he kept on shouting until...

"The what-Club?" a very deep voice growled. He decided to tell the voice what it meant or he would be dead frog-meat.

"Revenge on the Shark club..." he said.

He came out from the shadows and he gasped. It was Duke! The shark. He laughed evilly.

"Not so funny when you mess with me!" he growled.

He hit Fred with his fin. Then Fred blacked out.

Chapter 4: Rescuing Fred They were all back at the hole except for Fred. Tommy started to get worried.

"Maybe we should all look for him”, declared Tommy.

"I agree," said Lizzy. "Chase, you stay with the club members. We're going to look for Fred."

"Where did he go, again?" asked Tommy.

"Umm, let's try south," said Lizzy.

“Okay," said Tommy, as they began to swim south, gasping at how scary it was.

'What happened here?" Lizzy whispered.

"I bet it was Duke!" said Tommy.

"Oh no! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes," Tommy almost cried.

They swam really fast trying to find him. They swam into a gigantic cave full of holes.

It was very dark until they entered a pen cavern.

Cages full of sea-animals were everywhere. There Duke was putting Fred in a cage…

Tommy was about to explode with fury until he saw a net and thought of a plan.

"I have a plan," Tommy whispered. "If we could make a trap with that we could lure him into it and free everyone."

"Tommy, you're the best," whispered Lizzy. "I'll go get the others for help. Try making the trap."

"Okay," said Tommy as Lizzy swam off.

Tommy grabbed the net and put it on the ceiling of the cave.

He found a rope and attached it to the net.

"Perfect," Tommy whispered to himself.

"Mmm...that tasted good!" Tommy heard Duke roar.

"Hurry Lizzy, hurry," Tommy muttered to himself.

Chapter 5: Trapping Duke Tommy saw Lizzy swim in his direction.

"We need help. I'll explain on the way-just follow me and bring the members!" shouted Lizzy.

The members followed Tommy and Lizzy.

"What's going on?" he asked Lizzy. Lizzy explained everything.

"Oh, no," said Chase.

"Don't worry. Tommy made a trap," said Lizzy.

Tommy gasped at how scary this place looked.

"Come on!" shouted Lizzy.

"Sorry." Tommy followed her. They swam into the cave where Duke was.

"Okay, so we have to lure Duke into the trap. Just follow Lizzy's lead," whispered Tommy.

They followed her, swimming into a gigantic cave... with Duke in it.

"Hey Duke!" shouted Lizzy. Duke turned his head. He was ready to explode.

"Come and get us!" she shouted.

Duke roared and they all swam really fast toward the trap. The race was on!

Duke swam as fast as lightning toward them. They finally swam past the trap.

A great roar came from Duke.

"Now!" Lizzy screamed, and the trap fell right onto him.

"Go! Go! Go!" shouted to the rest of the bunch.

Tommy led them toward the gigantic room. Everyone let the other sea animals out.

"Thanks!" said Fred.

All of the sea animals swam away.

"Fred!" a voice shouted at the entrance. Tommy swam out and hugged Fred.

"I was worried to death," Tommy said. "Guys, what about Duke?"

They all looked at each other and swam quickly toward the trap.

"Do you promise never to bully again?" asked Lizzy.

A growl rumbled in his throat.

"Fine. Just let me out," he replied.

They did. And from that day, no one has ever been bullied under the sea again.

FLAME

WRITTEN BY ERIKA CHEE IN 2012.

Winner of the Lekha’s Young Wordsmiths Writing Contest in 2012.

Flame, a red filly, watched her herd sadly as they disappeared into the dust. She watched until she couldn’t see them anymore.

Her sire was gone. Her dam was dead. Her brothers and sisters were captured. She was now going to live with an eleven year old girl named Gabby. Flame’s ears drooped once they were out of sight.

Gabby walked over to her and said, “You miss your herd, girl?”

Flame nickered in agreement. She turned and walked back to her stall. The other horses there greeted her.

“Hey, Flame,” a brown Palomino horse said, “Nice red coat you have there!”

“Thanks,” Flame said, “I miss my herd. Do you?”

A black mustang called from its far away stall, “I do! When they left me, I was literally getting all angry at Gabby.” They talked until sundown.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Flame said.

The other horses replied and they all went to sleep. But, Flame couldn’t sleep. She lay awake, dreaming of her herd, having fun and galloping away together.

Why would they capture her? Why not anyone else?

There’s nothing special about her, just a plain, sleek, red coat, and a wavy mane, nothing else! As Flame lay thinking about this, she fell asleep, still dreaming.

When she woke up, she found the other horses were not in their stalls. Feeling as if everyone left her (actually, they did), she rushed out of the stable.

The other horses were outside, grazing and drinking water from troughs. Flame saw that this was new. She didn’t know how to drink like this. She was used to drinking water from a stream or a river. The food she got sometimes was in a trough also. She did like the oats she was fed, though.

The colts played happily in the fenced-in field, while the mares watched over them. The stallions watched over THEM. “Tag, you’re it!” a Lipizzaner colt poked a Pinto colt. The Pinto yelped and poked him back. Flame enjoyed watching them. She still wasn’t used to the fenced-in area. It was like being trapped in a jail. The fence was too high to jump over. But Flame lost her train of thought when she felt a horse nudge her on her neck. It was Hannah, the blackish-red filly.

“Hey,” she said, “Do you want to play hide-and-seek?” Flame nodded and started counting.

After a while, she started seeking.

“Hmm, Hannah is SUCH a good hider!” Flame remarked.

Then she finally found her wedged between two bales of hay.

“Come on,” Flame said, “Let’s eat lunch.”

The two waited for Gabby’s dad to pour in the oats and water. After a while, no one came.

“Ugh,” Flame said, “I’m starving. When will he come?” Hannah shrugged her shoulders and went off to graze in the field. Flame thought that that was a good idea in case Gabby’s dad didn’t come. Flame trotted over to the field and started grazing also.

Hannah asked Flame, “What is your brother’s name?”

“I don’t remember,” was Flame’s reply, “I only know that one of my brothers is Nathan.” Suddenly, they heard Gabby’s call from below.

“Flame? Hannah? Where are you guys?” she called.

Flame ran over to her, followed by Hannah. Their manes and tails flew back in the wind as the galloped along. When they reached her, they stopped.

“Hey girls!” Gabby said, “Sorry my dad didn’t feed you yet. You hungry?” she poured the oats into the trough. Flame started eating right away.

“Girls,” Gabby said, “My dad wants you to be racehorses!”

Flame stopped.

“What does a racehorse do?” she asked Hannah.

“A race horse competes in races and may win a prize!” When Flame heard this, she jumped up happily and neighed.

Gabby chuckled. “So you want to go, girl?” she asked. Flame and Hannah nodded. “Okay then!” Gabby said, “Come with me then.”

The three walked over to the stable.

Gabby said, “If you want to go to a race and be a racehorse, you must go through some basic training. “ Flame and Hannah nodded.

“Great!” Gabby said, “I’ll tell dad right now. Dad?” she said. The two waited in the stable and after a few minutes, Gabby came running back.

“Dad said yes!” she shouted, “I can’t wait to see you ride!”

The two then went through weeks of training, and once every two weeks, they’d get a break. Several times it rained and they STILL had to train. They trained every day, all day, and ate a short breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Then, Gabby said to them one day, “The next race will be the Friday after this week.”

Flame said to Hannah, “Are you excited about the race?”

Hannah drooped her head and showed her scared eyes, “I’m nervous,” she said.

Then, it was the day of the big race. The two horses got to the practice area.

“Going to the turf,” Hannah said, “See you at the feeding place.” She walked to the turf practice area with her jockey on her back.

Flame’s jockey said to her, “Let’s go to the dirt practice area, girl.” Flame’s flank was quivering. She was very nervous for the big race.

“Okay, girl,” her jockey said, “Let’s run!” The practice whistle blew, and Flame sprinted off. The dirt road was harder than turf, but it gave her the running power to burst off to the finish line.

After the practice, Hannah and Flame ate a small snack– a carrot. They got in the truck and were driven off to the race arena.

Hannah talked to Flame only once along the way to the arena.

“Good luck,” she said nervously, “Don’t give up.”

“You too,” Flame said.

“It’s you that is more nervous!” she added with a laugh.

The truck suddenly stopped. The drivers got out of the truck and opened the trailer door. Flame stepped out first, followed

by Hannah.

“I’m nervous,” Hannah said.

“Don’t worry, Hannah,” Flame said to her, “Remember, don’t give up!”

The track was a dirt track. Flame had just practiced on a dirt track! Her jockey got on her, and Hannah’s jockey got on her.

They went to the starting line and got ready.

The other horses whinnied to their friends and family. There were eight other horses there– Lucy, Friendship, Angel, Devil, Lightning, Thunder, Thomas, and Billy.

Then the horn sounded. It alerted the other horses to get ready. Then, Flame’s jockey said to her, “Don’t worry, Flame.

You’ll do fine. I promise.”

Then, the whistle blew, and the horses sprinted off in a swirl of dust. Flame wasn’t bothering to look at the swirl of dust right now, since she was traveling straight. Once she had to turn, she opened her eyes, finding the dust clearing.

Hannah was in the lead, with Angel close behind. Behind Flame was Lightning, who was gaining on her. Behind her, far behind, were Thunder and Devil, who were close behind each other. At the back were Lucy, Thomas, and Friendship. The horses ran and galloped along. The crowd cheered the horses and the jockeys on. Her jockey’s whip was painless now; Flame was so used to it.

“Last lap for the horses, last lap,” the speaker sounded.

The crowd was cheering like crazy now. Flame’s hooves clopped against the dirt floor. Her legs hurt. Her head was dripping with sweat. But she kept on going.

“Faster, faster,” she said to herself. She sprinted to the finish line. She didn’t even bother to check if she was first or not.

When she finished, she looked to see Hannah skidding to a stop at the finish line, panting.

The other horses followed in line.

The crowd was cheering, “Let’s go Fla-ame! Let’s go Fla-ame!” It was her very first win!

She didn’t know what to do. She had never won a race. It was brand new to her.

She was brought up to the stands and was given a wreath of flowers, and her jockey got one too.

“Flame, wake up,” Hannah said.

She was nudging her.

Flame had fallen asleep along the way home. She got up and walked out of the trailer. She forgot that she had her wreath on. Gabby ran to the trailer.

“Oh my gosh!” she shouted, jumping with joy, “You won, Flame!!!” She hugged Flame around the neck.

“Gabby,” Gabby’s dad said, “Let Flame and Hannah rest.”

Flame walked into her stall. Suddenly, she felt as if she had just rejoined her herd.

“Hannah,” she said, “Do you know any horse over here that can communicate with humans well?”

“Yes,” Hannah replied, “It’s Wilson, that Palomino horse you were talking to on the first day.”

Flame walked slowly to his stall, sore from the race.

“Wilson?” she whispered, “Can you please tell Gabby and her family that Hannah and I are going to leave?”

Wilson nodded and trotted out of the barn.

“By the way, congratulations Flame” he said.

Hannah was standing by the stable door. “Let’s go, Flame,” she said. Flame and Hannah were about to run away when Flame got an idea.

“Wait,” she said. Flame grabbed a sharp stick outside of the stable and scraped it on her stall door. In horse language, she wrote, “Flame, winner of race, was here.”

Then, Flame’s herd burst into view.

“Come on, Hannah!” she called. Then, Flame saw her sire!

“Flame!” he said, “Nice to see you again!” Hannah stared at him for a moment.

“Flame, I think I know something that we never knew about ourselves,” She said. Flame heard her, but she didn’t reply right away.

She felt like she was re-born. It felt like she was new to the herd.

Her old friends had grown up. It was now time for her to mate and get a foal. But, she knew now, as she galloped and lead the herd, she and Hannah weren’t just Best Friends, but separated sisters who were now re-united.